some days are better than others... (pt 2)

as we related in our last post, our fabulous surprise trip to the theater was initiated by planning a fabric shopping trip exploring the various crowded and cluttered small shops that line the streets of los angeles' garment district. we also explained that m21 was scared of those shops, with all their hideously bad polyester and acetate fabrics stacked out front- we break out in a rash just thinking about going inside them! you're probably thinking "how could maison21, a man who has crawled inside a dumpster because he saw pretty chair legs sticking out of it, be scared of some silly old fabric shops?" but what can we say- it's true. dumpster diving good, cluttered cheap fabric stores bad. m21 is just a bundle of contradictions- a puzzle, a decorating enigma, as it were. as usual, though, we digress- back to our topic...

the bachelorette had convinced m21 that treasures could be found in those fabric lined rat holes, and as she's not yet steered him wrong, off they went to wade amongst the bolts of cow patterned polyester and cheap cotton preschool prints. at first, m21 was convinced he was justified in his aversion- the best stuff we saw was some "imperial trellis" knock offs and some waverly toiles- not entirely hideous, but not so good either. as we progressed further into the depths of the garment district, a couple of more interesting fabrics started popping out- a psychedelic paisley reminiscent of a 70's YSL scarf, followed by bolt of pieced and embroidered faux leather. both pretty cool, but neither right for our project.

then, at our 3rd or 4th stop, suddenly a shaft of heavenly light shone down, and there it was: the fabric. the one we were searching for (though we didn't know it), and the perfect choice to transform the bachelorette's bedroom into a thing of beauty. (do us a favor, though- please don't ask who saw it first, the bachelorette or m21. she'll say she did, but m21 swears it was his highly trained professional eye that clocked it, and as this is the maison21 blog, not the "bachelorette blog", that's the story we're sticking to, ok?).

what is this miracle fabric? this life-transforming, once-in-a-life time find? behold, we give you katsugi:see why it was love at first sight?

a little ethnic-y, but still sophisticated; blue and white as we hoped for, but not a grandma-esque toile. it was absolutely perfect. if you think you've seen it before, you probably have- this fabulous schumacher print has been featured on many a blog- like my little apartment and urban grace. it also seems to be a favorite of talented new york designer, tom scheerer, as evidenced by the following two photos that we stole completely without permission from his website. mr. sheerer has long been a favorite of ours, btw- love his work. like m21, he loves to add a saarinen table to almost every project- they just work, no matter what the style. and we also love his effortless ability to incorporate natural materials like wicker and other raw textures into his interiors without seeming overly beachy or rustic- not as easy as you'd think.
besides that obvious drop dead gorgeousness of katsugi, the other thing that made this fabric absoultely heaven sent, was the low, low price we found it for (how this chic to the trade fabric ended up in some random fabric shop downtown, we'll never know). mind you, maison21 isn't one to buy and tell- the cost of goods is between m21 and his clients, and always remains confidential, so we can't reveal exactly what we paid for our fabric find- but in this case, he doubts the bachelorette would mind very much if he let slip that our katsugi purchase was a true bargain. a bargain as in we could cover all our walls like the above photo, and still not dent our total budget for the room. a bargain, as in we have enough yardage to use the excess as pillows on the bachelorette's patio, and not have to worry about about being extravagant or wasteful by using an expensive indoor fabric on the outside. a bargain, as in we got a whole bolt of katsugi (tons and tons of yardage) for less than than a yard of some high-end velvets. that kind of bargain...

as for how we will use our new fabric find- basically on everything! curtains, bedskirt and upholstered headboard and a small boudoir chair (we'll stick with basic white for the coverlet). i'm telling you it's going to be stunning paired with blue walls, white trim and white furniture with touches of brass- add in the vintage lucite lamps and venini chandelier we've already purchased, and we think we'll have quite the winning room...

now do you understand why m21 felt the need to post not just once, but twice about his very, very good day? does it get any better than an afternoon with a good friend experiencing incredible theater, followed by shopping trip where you find exactly what you want, in a place you never expected, and at a price you never even dreamed possible?

some days really are better than others!

and some days are also gayer than others- as m21 remarked to the bachelorette, "could it get any gayer than an afternoon of musical theater and fabric shopping?", to which she shot back "only if we had started with brunch!" ;-)

some days are better than others...

after a brief hiatus, maison21 and the bachelorette are hot and heavy on phase II of our quest to glamorize her home. our first priority is her bedroom, and finding a super-chic and super-special fabric as a focal point and inspiration is job one. since m21's scheme requires lots and lots of our fabric of choice, we need to keep the cost factor under control as well...

with that in mind, last week, the bachelorette suggested we meet at her downtown office, and spend a little time checking out some of the cheap fabric jobbers in the garment district. maison21 admits he was a 'lil leery of this plan- he shops downtown at michael levine for fabric fairly frequently, but the piles and piles of fabrics at the small jobbers that line the streets of the surrounding garment district scare him- he really doesn't see fleece printed with soccer balls, day-glo faux fur or fake sequined polyester- *shudder*- as quite appropriate for any of his projects!

photo is lifted from our friends at the paris apartment (thank you), and is of new york's garment district, not LA's, but you get the idea...

but the bachelorette is a pretty savvy lady, so m21 was willing to push aside his skepticism, and venture into uncharted waters on her recommendation. perhaps sensing our trepidation,the bachelorette said she had some other surprises in mind for our downtown field trip, and if we could, to clear our calendar and make a day's adventure of it. intrigued, our calendar was cleared, and the adventure was on!

the bachelorette's surprise turned out to be this:
tickets to a matinée performance of spring awakening! how awesome of a surprise is that? m21 had expressed a desire to go, but being the huge procrastinator that he is, hadn't made it yet, and with it closing in 3 days, it was entirely doubtful he'd ever get there- so the bachelorette, being the take charge kinda gal she is, made it happen!

and boy is maison21 glad she did- we were blown away, and have been humming the amazing score ever since ("totally f*cked" might just now be our favoritist show tune ever!). the talented kids in the cast, belting out songs of adolescent angst, really give it all their all- and a broadway show that really rocks? well, the punk rock kid that lives inside m21 couldn't have been more thrilled! the touring company has left los angeles, but is still making the rounds of the nation for a good chunk of 2009 and SA is also playing on broadway for a bit longer, so if you have the opportunity, m21 says go, go, go! here's a peek of what's in store if you haven't been awakened yet:

the start of a pretty good day right? just wait- we haven't even got to the fabric shopping part of the story yet! it gets even better!
to be continued...

beverly blvd. holiday block party

great shops, great restaurants- could be great fun!


great shops, great restaurants- could be great fun!

it's official...

the christmas season is officially here.

what?

you thought it started with black friday?

wrong!

here at the maison21 atelier, it started with tedious tuesday- as while killing time waiting on a four hour window for the freight delivery of a large mirror (which sadly arrived smashed, btw), we hung the last of our bazillion ornaments on the m21 kmart/biglots/99cent store tree. all we need now is some prezzies underneath to complete the picture (they'd help hide that ugly wire base, too). seriously, we can't express the tedium involved in hanging our hundreds and hundreds of monochromatic silver and white ornaments: randomly hang different sizes and shades of glass balls. step back, squint, then adjust randomness to a more visually appealing version of randomness. step back, squint, and repeat- ad nauseum. we need to hire a special assistant for this kinda stuff! maybe next year we'll post an intern position at a local college design department: "elf-like student with excellent manual dexterity and incredible patience, needed to bring xmas cheer to design atelier/home".

in the end, even if we had to submit to the tedium all by our lonesome, the results were worth it, because as of tedious tuesday, it's beginning to feel a lot like christmas...

happy holiday decorating to those of you still in the process- thank god m21 is done! (as in over it, done).

coasting along (cheap 'n chic custom gift idea)

some of you may remember this photo of the bachelorette's living room and the chic bright yellow chinoiserie wall panels we used:well, we just purchased a vintage bar cart as a late addition to the room, and need to accessorize it with some vintage barware, preferably lucite, before the holiday season is in full swing. we like coasters for everyday use- more eco-friendly than either paper or cloth napkins- and before we even started our search for a cool vintage set, we stumbled across these insertable acrylic coasters at a local craft store, remembered the waste pieces from the yellow wall panels, and voila- custom yellow and lucite coasters were born. (tip: ALWAYS keep any excess wall covering in case of an accident, or in this instance, in case of an emergency craft project).
though the coasters shown were purchased locally, a quick search of the internets turned them up here (and for less than we paid, we might add). if you do a bit more work, we bet you could find them for even cheaper on ebay, or sumpthin. the coasters come in a variety of shapes- we picked the hex because the chunky corners give maximum lucite appeal, but if the lucite look doesn't work in your room, the round and square version are a little plainer, but same insert concept. they couldn't be easier to make, too- just cut whatever material you are using into a 3 inch circle, place into coaster and secure with the cork backing.
with xmas fast approaching, we thought this quick project might be of interest to anyone looking to give gifts with a personal touch (we think they'd make a wonderful hostess gift or house warming gift, too). the inserts needn't be wallpaper- any purty paper will do- could be as inexpensive as gift wrap, or as fancy as handmade marbleized paper- just use your imagination!

ps- unless you are gifting to grandma, try to avoid using family photos- there is something a bit unsettling about placing a cocktail on junior's smiling face...